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Commercial Real Estate Environmental

University of Miami’s College Of Engineering Contributes To Sustainable Construction

UM sustainable concrete wall test

I was lucky to be invited to an evening reception and tour of University of Miami’s College of Engineering labs.  Titled Engineering in the 21st Century:  Innovation and Sustainability, the evening started with a brief overview of the engineering program by Dr. Jean-Pierre Bardet, Dean of the College of Engineering and was followed by tours of several of their labs.  The work and research being done at UM is impressive, even to this non-engineer.  In addition to several breakthrough developments in cyber-security and health care, including addressing diabetes and creating eye prosthesis, there were two labs that were working on items that directly affect the real estate industry.

UM’s Structures and Materials lab has developed a concrete using seawater instead of fresh water, which is a huge drain on our state’s water resources, and a non-corrosive material that can be used instead of rebar in construction.  Imagine:  no more spalling, special assessments to replace condo balconies and longer life-span for bridges and sea-walls.

The Industrial Engineering Industrial Assessment Center, conducts energy assessments at no cost to manufacturing facilities in Florida and Puerto Rico.  These assessments can help manufacturers save energy and money.  Keep up the great research UM!

 

 

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Buying Commercial Real Estate Luxury Real Estate Selling

New FIRPTA Rules Take Effect February 17, 2016

 

1450 BrickellTwo changes made to the  U.S. Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA) will go into effect February 17.  While one affects foreign investment in publicly-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and should make commercial property in the U.S. more attractive to foreign buyers, the second one affects foreign buyers of residential properties.

The change relating to ownership of U.S.  REITs is the doubling of the maximum amount of stock a foreign investor may have in REITs from 5% to 10% and allowing foreign pension funds to invest in REITs withoug having FIRPTA apply.  Ralph W. Holmen, associate general counsel for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) states that these changes “… are conservatively estimated to boost foreign investment in U.S. commercial real estate by $20-$30 billion per year'”.

In order to cover the costs associated with the two commercial provisions, the withholding amount for residential properties will increase from 10% up to 15% on properties that are over $1 million, whether it is used as a primary residence or not.  For properties $300,000 or less or $300,000 to $1 million, the rules don’t change.  Under $300,000, no FIRPTA tax is paid if it is to be used as a primary residence.  From $300,000 – $1 million, the current 10% FIRPTA tax will not change as long as the property is used as a primary residence.

Buyers need to know that although most settlement agents do withhold the FIRPTA tax, if they do not, the buyer is the one that is legally responsible for the tax owed if it is not withheld.

 

 

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Buying Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate Renting in Miami

Majority of Millennials Cite Cost of Living as a Concern

 

Downtown Chicago - Chicago IL #24 of Forbes 25 top cities for Millennials
Downtown Chicago – Chicago IL #24 of Forbes 25 top cities for Millennials

Bank of America/USA Today Better Money Habits® Millennial Report, provides great insight into the financial concerns of the millennial generation.  As the mother of three millennials, ages 21-25, and a Realtor I am always interested in what reports say drive this group of young adults.

Of great interest is the correlation between jobs and housing in areas where millennials like to live, which tend to be cities with plenty of cultural and social activities, strong public transportation, high percentage of others in their age group (18-34) and ethnic diversity.

According to the B of A study, “No matter where they live, the cost of living is a concern for a majority of millennials. More than half are also concerned about their ability to save based on where they live.”  This is also one of my concerns for my children.  My youngest is already thinking about where she is going to move once she graduates.  Although she realizes it will depend where she finds a job in film editing, she is looking at cities that have both a large film/television production industry and a lower cost of living than some of the big cities, such as Los Angeles and New York.

Given the top Forbes’ Best Cities for Millennials in 2015, it is not surprising that cost of living is such a large concern.  Eleven of the top 25 cities have rents at or close to $1300 per month.  If you go by the rule of thumb that no more than 30% of your annual income should go to rent, then millennials in these cities would have to make a minimum of $52,000 per year.  Miami rents have gone up significantly as well and though we didn’t make Forbes’ cut as top 25 cities, I think that is changing with the emergence of a strong tech entrepreneurial center.

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Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate

So The Topic Of The Day Seems To Be Taxes!

Going through my Google Alerts this morning, I came across so many articles that mentioned Florida and taxes that I decided I needed to blog about it.  Although it is not the only consideration to take when making a move, either as a business or an individual, taxes appear to be taking on a great degree of importance in terms of luring both companies and individuals to a state.

According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, The most tax friendly states for business, Florida ranks 5th.  The states who ranked higher were Wyoming (No. 1), South Dakota (No. 2), Nevada (No. 3), and Alaska (No. 4).  Based on that analysis, it is ironic that business interest groups are trying to reduce a 6% tax on commercial leases.  Supposedly Florida is the only state to charge a tax on leases.

Fox Business News’, Do you live in a bad tax climate state, listed New York and New Jersey as the worst states for businesses when it comes to taxes.

Even luxury yacht owners fare better in Florida than other states, based on KUOW’s, Luxury Yachts Set Out To Sea To Dodge State Taxes.

Since we don’t have a state income tax, and are obviously pretty low on other tax criteria, we need to be careful not to overdue the race to be the lowest tax state across the board.  It is taxes that pay for education and infrastructure, which are extremely important in keeping our state a place where both individuals and businesses want to move.

 

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Commercial Real Estate Florida Life Neighborhood News

PortMiami Plans For Future

[youtube width=”425″ height=”344″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKgLx54PABk#![/youtube]Last week’s Business Monday in the Miami Herald featured “PortMiami’s Big Dream” about the port’s master plan.  I really liked their concept for developing the southwest corner. What do you think about making this working port a tourist and business hub?

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Commercial Real Estate

Miami Real Estate – Commercial Construction Also Picking Up

 I have been seeing more commercial buildings going up in Miami as well.  All small signs the economy is improving.

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Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate

Student Housing Popular With Investors

An article in CoStar regarding student housing, reinforced what I already know.  Student housing is a good investment and not all student housing is created equal.  As a parent with two students in college, and a third student one year away,  I spend a lot of money on housing.  My first experience was when we arrived in Gainesville four years ago.  We found that student housing is big business and extremely competitive in terms of rental rates.  For less than $600 a month, my son had his own room and bathroom in a fully furnished apartment in a student complex.  It was secure, had tons of amenities and activities geared around the college student.  Even though he wasn’t living in the dorms, I feel like he still had a dorm-like experience.

Our second son is attending college in Fort Meyers and though he is living in the dorms, there is a student housing complex nearby identical to the one my son in Gainesville lived in.  It is expected to be completely rented out in the next couple of months because the university just bought up a large multi-family complex close to their campus to convert into off campus dorms.  In terms of investments, it is no wonder student housing is popular.  Remember, the closer to campus, the higher the premium.

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Commercial Real Estate

Developers Are Betting On Miami Real Estate

With two new extremely large developments announced within the last couple of months, I would venture to bet that Miami-Dade County is on a rebound, though price appreciation may take a while.

Genting Malaysia Berhadresort and Swire Properties Brickell CitiCentre are sure to bring much needed amenities to the Biscayne Boulevard corridor and the area west of Brickell Avenue.

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Buying Commercial Real Estate Investment Real Estate

3860 SW 8 St., Coral Gables – Free Standing Office Building For Sale

Free Standing Office Building with Parking

This updaated and well maintained office building is in the bustling medical and office district of 8th street, between Galiano and Ponce De Leon in Coral Gables.  Hurricane shutters, 14 parking spaces, an automatic gate and great location, make this an ideal building for an owner-user.  6,535 square feet at $229 per square foot.

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Commercial Real Estate Foreclosures Market Summary Neighborhood News

Still Doubt An Economic Recovery Is Taking Place In Miami?

There was so much good news about economic activity in the Miami Today, today that I had to share some of the ones that popped out at me.  In addition to the one about all of the economic growth numbers from November (see tomorrow’s post), the following things jumped out at me as a good sign that Miami, despite the economic downturn, has continued pursuing projects that focus on long term growth

I point all this out because it is easy to focus on the negatives of unemployment, short sales, and foreclosures, all of which are very real and very painful.  The fact that companies are investing here, tourists are visiting, inventories are getting absorbed, and developers are getting ready to start building again, all tell me that we are bouncing along the bottom, but the end is in sight.  Since unemployment is a lagging indicator, it will be one of the last economic indicators to pick up.  All of the items listed above will help the unemployment rate, which in turn will further help stabilize our battered housing market.